[MSN] Historically precious icon stolen from church in S W Russian city

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Historically precious icon stolen from church in S W Russian city

05.05.2006, 01.41
 
KURSK, May 5 (Itar-Tass) - Another woe has befallen clerics and believers in
the Russian Orthodox diocese of Kursk, a region 500 kilometers to the south
of Moscow, as one more precious icon has been stolen from a local church in
less than a week. 

This time, the caperers targeted the Holy Trinity icon at the cathedral in
the name of St Sergius and the Virgin Mary of Kazan. The previous caper
occurred in another major church of the city, the Bishopric Cathedral of the
Sign where a replica of the famous Virgin Mary of the Sign was stolen. 

Yekaterina Ivanova, a woman selling candles and prayer books in the St
Sergius Cathedral was the first one to notice that the Holy Trinity was
missing. She immediately reported her finding to local police. 

The caperers left the icon's massive wooden frame right in the cathedral and
took away only the holy image in a metal casing, made of gilded silver. 

Alexander Shapovalov, the chief of the department for religious and ethnic
affairs at the Kursk region administration, told Itar-Tass the icon was
painted in the 19th century and experts from the Soviet Ministry of Culture
said back in 1986 it was one of the most precious relics of religious art in
the region. 

Somewhat later, the still unknown criminals stole six icons from the
cathedral, all of them having the same casings of gilded silver as the Holy
Trinity. 

The Cathedral in the Name of St Sergius and the Virgin Mary of Kazan is one
of the most venerated churches in the Kursk diocese, visited by numerous
groups of pilgrims from around Russia. 

It was built in the 18th century by Isidor and Anna Moshnin, the parents of
the widely known Russian preacher, St Seraphim of Sarov. 
 
http://www.itar-tass.com/